(RaDa”K). Sepher HaShorashim [“Book of Roots” - lexicon to the Bible]

AUCTION 25 | Monday, October 25th, 2004 at 1:00

Important Hebrew Printed Books: The Property of a Gentleman

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Lot 26

KIMCHI, DAVID

(RaDa”K). Sepher HaShorashim [“Book of Roots” - lexicon to the Bible]

Printed in three columns. Our copy contains the prefatory poem by Joseph Bibas, lacking in many copies (see Ya'ari). Despite few faults, a fine copy ff.131. Opening and closing leaf repaired with loss of couple of words, stained in places, former owners' signatures and stamps on title. Modern vellum-backed. Sm. folio Vinograd, Const. 37; Ya'ari, Const. 21; Mehlman 1253

Constantinople: Astruc de Toulon 1513

Est: $12,000 - $15,000

PRICE REALIZED $15,000

The famous Provencal exegete and grammarian R. David Kimchi (1160?-1235?), was a life-long anti-Christian polemicist. Most famous in this respect are his Teshuvoth LaNotzrim (Responses to Christians), culled from his commentary to Psalms. However, a trace of the anti-Christian polemic is also to be found in his Sepher HaShorashim. Under the entry “elem” (f.86), Rada”k, quoting his father R. Joseph Kimchi, derides the Christian assertion that the word “almah” (a young girl) in Isaiah 7:14 refers to a virgin birth (parthenogenesis). Remarkably, the passage has survived intact in our copy. In other copies consulted, the offending lines were struck by the ever-watchful censor